Professor of biology Diane Husic had an op-ed piece published in the April 2008 issue of The Scientist, written in response to an article about international competition in science and technology that threatens this country’s long-running dominance. She argues that the U.S. is not doing enough to attract people into the science pipeline, is not sufficiently supporting research that doesn't fall under the category of "big science" (when many of our greatest innovations were serendipitous outcomes of basic research), and is failing to recognize the problems of the growing literacy divide between the technical experts and the general public with respect to science and technology.

Professor of political science Gary Olson's piece "The Emotional Power of Photography: From the Civil Rights Movement to Iraq, How Empathy Can Impact Change," was published in the April 3, 2008 issue of commondreams.org.

Conferences, Presentations and Exhibitions

Several members of the Department of Physics and Earth Science attended the American Association of Physics Teachers Central Pennsylvania section (AAPT-CPS) spring meeting on April 4-5 at Lock Haven University. Attending were assistant professor Kelly Krieble (CPS Section Representative to the national AAPT), professor Joe Powlette, and professor Ed Roeder. Professor Roeder gave a talk on "Problem Solving in Introductory Physics." Ryan Cress '08 gave a talk on his Honors research titled "The Effect of Particle Mass on the Dynamics of Avalanches on Three-Dimensional Granular Piles," and Tim Guider '07 gave a talk on an independent study project entitled "Construction of a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer."

On March 28, professors of biology Frank Kuserk and Diane Husic attended the 2nd Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference. Professor Husic was a co-author on paper delivered by Dan Kunkle, Executive Director of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, titled "An Analysis of the Impact of Alternative Energy Sources on Watersheds: The Studies that Have Yet to Be Done."

Professor of political science Gary Olson was the invited speaker for the roundtable "Critical Political Psychology" at the Midwest Political Science Association annual convention in Chicago, Illinois on April 4. Professor Olson gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Faculty Research and Development Committee (FRDC).

Joel Nathan Rosen, assistant professor of sociology, served as a panelist for a public debate regarding athletes in an age of scandal hosted by the NY Salon at the Barnes and Noble at the Lincoln Center Triangle in Manhattan (more details here). Additionally, professor Rosen presented the paper "Black Baseball and Black Business: An (Un)Easy Alliance" at the 15th Annual Spring Training Conference hosted by NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture in Tucson, Arizona, a trip that was funded in part by a generous grant from the FDRC.

On March 25, professor of English Joel Wingard attended the spring quarterly meeting of the Philadelphia Area Writing Program Administrators (PWPA) at Cabrini College. The meeting was held in conjunction with Cabrini's "Common Good" Symposium on "Challenges and Opportunities for 21st-Century Education," which featured presentations by Jonathan Kozol and Paul Vallas. Professor Wingard is co-chair of the PWPA Executive Committee.

On April 3-5, professor Wingard attended the 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) in New Orleans. As part of a panel on "WPA Work: Agentic Efforts and Ambiguity," he gave a presentation on the "Effects of WPA Work on/with the Media: the Network for Media Action," in which he described the efforts of the Network for Media Action (NMA), an agency of the national Council of Writing Program Administrators. As a member of the steering committee of NMA, professor Wingard participated in its efforts to tell the story of writing program administration to non-academic audiences through various media initiatives such as the National Conversation on Writing. The NMA steering committee also met at the conference to plan programs and strategies for the rest of 2008. While at CCCC, professor Wingard also attended a session in which Courtney Werner '05, presented on "Graphic Novel as Textbook: Alternative Realities for Composition Instruction." Courtney, who is finishing her master's in rhetoric and composition at Texas State University, and two of her graduate-student colleagues described the graphic novel they have created for use in their first-year composition courses at TSU.

Charlotte Zales, associate professor of education, attended the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference on March 24-28 in New York City, and was the discussant for a session titled "Investigating Learning Environments to Enhance Science and Inquiry Learning." The research papers at the session focused on the relationship between learning environments and motivation through simulations, interpersonal behavior of teachers, and effects of school support for inquiry across K-12 classroom settings.

Other News

Faramarz Farbod, adjunct instructor in political science, was the guest on April 8 on "Centering on Peace," a BCTV (Berks Community Television) program which discussed the crisis in the Middle East. On April 10 he gave a talk titled: "Understanding Iran and the Implications of ANOTHER Unjustified War," sponsored by the Lehigh University Muslim Students Association.

On March 30th, assistant professor of biology Cecilia Fox and the students of the Premed Club hosted the 2008 Lehigh Valley Medical and Health Professions Expo. This was the first time Moravian hosted the event. She reports: "Due to the strong public relations and creative planning of this expo by the Premed Club, institutions such as Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Touro School of Osteopathic Medicine, NY School of Podiatric Medicine, US Army, DeSales Physician Assistant Program, among many others shared information regarding careers in the health professions to students across the Lehigh Valley. Moravian alumni representing veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, and the field of physician assistant contributed to the strength of the overall program. According to the KAPLAN organization, a co-sponsor of this event, this year's Medical and Health Professions Expo was the most successful thus far. Compared to the events previously hosted in the valley, our event received the largest registration and participation response. Representatives from the various graduate and medical programs were delighted with the Moravian College's Premed Club's organization of the event and generous door prizes!"

Send suggestions for News and Notes to rickc@moravian.edu. Please use "InCommon" in the subject line.